KTO will promote 'educational tourism' on ISIC Korea websites

The KTO and ISIC Korea will provide educational tourism information about Korea, including prepaid travel cards, on ISIC websites. This initiative aims to attract students from various countries to explore and learn about Korean culture.

Lee Hak-ju, executive vice president of the KTO's international tourism division, left, and ISIC Korea CEO Kim Doo-soon pose for a photo after signing a memorandum of understanding on Tuesday. [KOREA TOURISM ORGANIZATION]

The Korea Tourism Organization (KTO) and ISIC Korea signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) on Tuesday to offer more information about educational tourism in Korea.

Following the MOU, ISIC Korea will help the KTO add a section promoting Korea's educational tourism to the International Student Identity Card's U.S., German, British and Australian websites. The sections will go live between mid-July and the end of this year.

Through the page, visitors will also be able to sign up for a prepaid travel cards for use in Korea.

Educational tourism is the practice of traveling in order to learn about new topics, such as a country's culture, history or language. It includes school field trips.

The KTO has invited high school students from Japan to learn about Korean culture during school trips in collaboration with institutions including the Incheon East Asia Global Education Institute. It has also brought groups from Kazakhstan's Nazarbayev Intellectual Schools to tour various Korean universities and companies.

“It's meaningful to create more educational tourism programs because according to the 2023 International Visitor Survey, tourists who were coming to Korea to learn stayed for an average 20.1 days, which is the longest of all groups,” said Lee Hak-ju, executive vice president of the KTO's international tourism division. “Through the MOU with ISIC Korea, we hope to promote Korea's charm as an educational tourism destination for students in not just Europe, Oceania and the Americas, but also to those in Japan and China.”

BY LEE TAE-HEE [lee.taehee2@joongang.co.kr]